The surging popularity of videos has been increasingly palpable as more website owners use this format to publish their content. If you’re not using this media channel to create and distribute content for your website, you’re missing out on this valuable traffic resource. According to eMarketer, 52 percent of web traffic comes from videos, with 72 percent of website visitors watching these videos as reported by the New York Times. Video-sharing giant YouTube gets over one billion unique visitors on a monthly basis. As you can see, the numbers are staggering, making video content marketing a very effective method to drive traffic to your website.

Blogging has evolved over the years from simple text based posting by hobbyists sharing their passions. It’s now a powerhouse tool for reaching billions of readers worldwide using ideas and discussion to change world views, challenge norms and sell products. As we go with the flow of the blogosphere we continuously look for ways to make our own messages stand out from the rest and gain special attention and traction. In this day accomplishing this and increasing website traffic is a difficult task as competition becomes stiffer and readers’ attention spans become microscopic.

There is one medium able to hold the attention of this fast paced age and that’s video. The rise of video blogging has been a slow one but we’re seeing where many “vloggers” who took early advantage of sites like YouTube and Vimeo, are both rolling in the dough and enjoying rich experiences with their audiences. Online video has already started replacing cable TV viewership with more time being spent online. read more

Blogging is something most people start for fun or to share what they know with others. However, blogging is somewhat of an art, that takes constant variation in care in order to make it successful. One of these variations is the length and type of your blog content.

Your blog posts should go beyond daily posted 300 words; by incorporating infographics, audio and video, and longer, more in-depth posts you will make your blog more entertaining to read. This can increase time spent on your blog and reader retention rate. read more

Creating great videos may not be easy, but Amy Schmittauer makes it look easy. President of Vlog Boss Studios, an agency specializing in video content marketing, Amy has also created a following on YouTube where she talks about social media, marketing and more.

What advice would you to give to someone starting video, and getting over the fear of being on camera?

It’s so much easier to talk to people directly right? Stop thinking about the lens, and start thinking about your audience. Picture one person that you would be sharing this information with, and speak to them. It’s a completely different feeling when you have the mindset that you’re helping someone with your content versus just being another recording on the Internet.

Your videos on Savvy Sexy Social are very entertaining. How do you keep people’s attention in an age when attention spans are spread so thin?

I inject a lot of personality in my videos. That’s the best way to start. If you think you can grow in this medium by being just another talking head, you have another thing coming. So people know exactly what I’m like in the real world because I’m not putting up a rouse for my videos. I also pay a lot of attention to my analytics, and my audience retention. Anything I can do to keep my video flowing quickly with non-stop information, and entertainment so they are only watching as long as they need to, increases my ability to build a relationship with them. You’ll rarely hear a pause or an “umm” because I do a lot of cutting, so we’re constantly going from point to point. There is no downtime in my videos. read more

In February 2013 Google showed off its newest feature, the YouTube One Channel. The design was created to give YouTube pages a Google+ profile page feel. The new design brought with it a featured banner at the top of the page, and a trailer video for visitors that have not yet subscribed to a creators channel.

The YouTube One Channel platform was released in beta but is now available to all YouTube users.

Speaking about the new release product manager Jeb Havens writes on the YouTube blog:

“The main focus of this update is to make your new channel look great on browsers across all screens and devices. It will also help you convert more visitors into subscribers with a slot for a channel trailer, and you can customize how you organize your videos and playlists so it fits your programming strategy.” read more

YouTube is rumored to be preparing a new music streaming network that would rival industry leader Spotify.

According to Fortune the video sharing website wants to provide free songs mixed with advertisements or the option to hear song without ads for a monthly fee. Spotify currently offers ad free listening for $4.99 via Desktop and $9.99 via mobile devices.

To add value to the service Google is expected to add a digital locker at Google Play for Android. By adding the extra option the company can round out its music services for different types of users, thus creating an online experience that provides more benefits to customers. read more